


The Healing Process

by thesalukihusker



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Jancy Fic Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 13:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21458740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesalukihusker/pseuds/thesalukihusker
Summary: Maybe Jonathan isn't those things, after all.
Relationships: Jancy - Relationship, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	The Healing Process

**Author's Note:**

> for the Jancy Week theme "Scars and Wounds." For Jonathan, falling in love means that longtime wounds and scars begin to heal. Set post-s2. I don't own Jancy, I just ship them

There's a scar below Jonathan's right knee that he got when he was five years old.

It was early fall, and he was learning how to ride a bicycle. Jonathan remembers feeling free, elated that he  _ almost had it _ . He fell off the bike about a block down the street, landing on his knees on the concrete. Jonathan scraped his right knee, and when it healed, there was a scar. A reminder of a childhood rite of passage.

Except nothing was ever like that for Jonathan.

It was the first time he really remembered hearing the words that would begin to shape him.  _ Stop crying. Don't be a fucking baby. You'll never be a man if you can't handle things like this. _

Lonnie's words cut deep down in to Jonathan. Every mistake, no matter how small, was a reminder of his supposed shortcomings.  _ You're not good enough. You need to man up. You're an idiot, a freak, you're worthless. You'll never amount to anything. _

The beatings were unbearable, and so were the words. And after a while, Jonathan began to wonder if maybe he  _ was  _ those things, despite Joyce reminding him that he wasn't. 

So Jonathan closed himself off from everyone except the two people he loved the most. He got in to photography, and music, and spent a lot of time alone.  _ It's better this way _ , he thought. 

And that protected Jonathan's heart. Until last fall, anyway.

###

Falling in love is scary when you've kept your heart guarded for so long.

Jonathan knew by the time Nancy kissed him on the cheek last Christmas that he was falling in love with her. They'd fought a monster together, united by a common goal to bring home two people they loved. She became his closest friend, his only friend, really, besides his brother. 

He opened up to Nancy in the woods that day about his dad. And she listened, and didn't think Jonathan was less of a man.

Sometime between that day and when Nancy wrapped Jonathan's hand, he began to fall in love.

Joyce had worried that Jonathan was t _ oo  _ closed off. He was 16 years old and had never been on a date. Never kissed a girl, held hands with one, asked her to a dance or to a movie.  _ I don't need those things,  _ Jonathan would say. He had responsibilities. School. Work. Taking care of his family. 

When he and Nancy held hands the morning after he stayed with her, it felt like electricity was coursing through him. He had a warm feeling inside when Nancy looked at him with those blue eyes. She was fearless, brilliant, didn't do anything halfway. She was  _ beautiful. _ He tried to deny that it was actually love.

By the spring of 1984, Jonathan had no doubt that it was. Nancy was with Steve then, but Jonathan's inner turmoil kept him from making a move, too.  _ She'd never go out with me. Why would she go out with me? Nancy could have anyone she wanted. Any guy would be lucky to have her. Nancy would never be interested in someone like me. The pretentious creep, remember? _

Jonathan thought it was wise to keep walls up around his heart. It couldn't be broken that way. 

###

One day, Jonathan walked in the kitchen, hands in his pockets. He didn't look at his mother at first, but Joyce clearly knew something was on his mind. 

"How did you know that you were in love? What did it feel like?"

Joyce nearly dropped the plate she was drying. 

###

Nancy made a mental note after they returned from Murray's to tell Jonathan every day the things she said that night.

Jonathan had no problem telling her  _ you're beautiful,  _ and  _ you're everything to me,  _ and  _ I'm so lucky to have you.  _ But Nancy noticed that Jonathan hearing  _ you're handsome, and smart, and wonderful _ made him blush and look away.

It's been two weeks since they got back, three days since their first date. Nancy wants him to know what he means to her, too.

"I meant it, Jonathan. All of it."

They're sitting opposite each other on his bed, Nancy's feet in Jonathan's lap. He moves to sit next to her, unsure of what to say next.

"I meant all of it. I mean it every time I say it. You're handsome, and smart, and wonderful, and all those things that you think you're not."

He's blushing and looking away again. "Jonathan, look at me. You are. You're all of those things. You deserve to have this, too. I know all of this is new to you. But believe me when I tell you that the Jonathan I know is a pretty great guy."

Nancy kisses him, a small kiss at first, and then more. Jonathan holds her close, happy that he can finally tell her how he feels about her. He hopes eventually, he'll believe all those things Nancy says he is, too.


End file.
